The Editorial Analysis- In Pursuit of Social Justice

In Pursuit of Social Justice- Relevance for UPSC Exam

• GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.

In Pursuit of Social Justice- Context

• Recently, the Tamil Nadu government launched an educational program named ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at the Doorsteps) scheme’.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic of Learning

• Technology Gap: The lockdown disempowered children from the marginalized sections as they did not have access to technology-driven pedagogical methods as the privileged did.
  • Many who find online teaching convenient and safe fail to recognize this class bias.
• Economic Disparity: The expensive nature of online teaching pushed a large number of underprivileged children out of the education system.
• Deepening Structural Asymmetrical: The lockdown accentuated the asymmetrical structure of the school system.
• Unavailability of Various government incentives: Many govt. incentives including free textbooks, free uniforms, free bicycles and nutritious mid-day meals, were unavailable to children of vulnerable sections during the lockdown.

 

Illam Thedi Kalvi Scheme

• About ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme: T.N government launched ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme to bridge the pandemic-induced gap in learning among school children.
  • The lockdown disempowered children from the marginalized sections as they did not have access to technology-driven pedagogical methods as the privileged did.
• Key Objective: ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme aims to achieve social justice by providing various incentives like free textbooks, free uniforms, and nutritious mid-day meals which were unavailable to children of vulnerable sections during the lockdown.
• Implementation: It will be implemented by volunteers first in 12 districts. It will be launched in other districts when the results from the 12 districts are positive.
  • Some 68,000 of the 86,000 volunteers are women.
  • This will help in allaying fears about the safety of female students and encourage them to participate in the program.
  • The volunteers will teach an estimated 34.05 lakh children in the 5-13 age group in 93,000 neighborhoods for 60 to 90 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Volunteers who have completed Class 12 will impart lessons for children of Classes 1-5 and graduates will teach children from Classes 6-8.

 

Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at the Doorsteps) Scheme- Key Significance

• It is commendable that experienced teachers and civic and education department officials will be monitoring the progress of the students at the district and block levels.
• By providing a concrete role to school management committees and community development activists, the program is turning learning into a social engagement.
• When young volunteers impart lessons creatively in an unconventional atmosphere, the possibility of better learning outcomes is higher.
  • This also gives children an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of their social reality.
  • This will enhance their self-respect and help them probe the reasons for oppression and injustice.